Laurel Bruhn
Laurel Bruhn is an original character featured in the fanfiction, We All Fall Down, co-written by suzasuza and profanity-plague under the name of ei and kei. Personal Information Likes: '''Birds, climbing trees, lemons, summer. '''Dislikes: '''Crying, sweet foods, winter. '''Hobbies: Collecting small objects, swimming, wandering. Timeline *'Age 3: '''Mother dies during childbirth; father is left to raise Lillie and Laurel by himself. *'Age 6: Has remained rather quiet up until her sixth year and becomes quite vocal about her opinions. *'Age 10: '''Breaks arm in two places after falling down a flight of stairs. *'Age 14: 'Struggles with normal relationships due to stand-offish attitude. *'Age 16: 'Father drowns, has a falling out with Lillie and leaves home. *'Age 17: 'Meets Seamus. *'Age 18: 'Loses track of Seamus, lives through an Akuma attack and is found by Tiedoll. Leaves America for the Black Order. Personality Bar *'Education: '4 *'Affinity: '2 *'Battle Ability: '4 *'Mental: '2 *'Flexibility: 4 *'Bird Calling: '''5 Appearance Laurel is rather tall for a woman her age, and her slender body only makes her seem taller. She is noted for her wide hips and muscular legs, though she never complains when others point it out. Laurel's arms are also well-muscled, though less noticeable than her legs. Her neck is rather long, which is one of the few things she appreciates about her body. Laurel's jaw line is stronger than those of most women and she has thicker, curved eyebrows. Her lips appear plump only from her profile and her smile is big. Though she is generally attractive, she seems plain in the company of her older sister, Lillie, and Lenalee. This has created tension between the two sisters. Personality To say the least, Laurel is a talented actor. Only one person has seem her for who she really is -- her older sister Lillie. In truth, Laurel is very insecure and has low self-worth. However, because she is afraid of letting people see her emotions, she puts on a front. She appears not only strong and confident, but cruel as well. Because many find her intimidating, it is difficult for her to have normal relationships. Laurel appears to have a superiority complex, though it is only a part of the act she puts on for others. She fears failing more than anything else. All her life, she has strived to be the best at all she does and will stop at nothing to achieve this, even if it means hurting those around her. Towards others, she is rather indifferent. She believes that she can rely only on herself due to her strained relationships with almost everyone she meets. She tends to push people away though she often feels lonely, which seems paradoxical. The people she doesn't push away often have trouble understanding why she is the way she is and usually decide that she's a she-devil who needs to get hers and soon. In battle, Laurel is vicious. Though she will often take out her emotions on anyone who happens to be near, she still keeps many things left unsaid. Therefore, she thrusts her entire being into her fights as a release. Relationships *'Allen Walker: 'Laurel is, in a sense, very similar to Kanda. She is extremely aggressive and hates being weighed down. Though Allen isn't fond of Laurel, he does not butt heads with her as often as he does with Kanda. However, because of his compassionate ways, he sees her as family and believes it his duty to protect her like everyone else. *'Lenalee Lee: 'Lenalee is one of the few who is able to see through Laurel's act. It is acknowledged by Laurel, but it does not stop her from being friendly with Lenalee, or at least what she believes is friendly. Lenalee appears to be Laurel's only friend. *'Yu Kanda: 'Laurel sees Kanda as a threat due to their many similarities. Despite this, the two have mutual respect for one another because both are very serious about what they do. *'Lavi: 'Lavi finds Laurel extremely intimidating, and though he is attracted to her, he abhors interacting with her because of this. *'Lillie Bruhn: 'Lillie has a very strained relationship with Laurel. Although the two are sisters, they cannot stand each other. Deep down, they love one another, but their constant bickering leaves them unable to express this. *'Seamus Cooney: 'Seamus loves Laurel in every sense of the word. However, with time, he seems to grow more and more indifferent to her. Background Though it is made clear that Laurel is an American, it is never specified which state she hails from. She suggests that she was born and raised in the southwest, but never confirms it. However, the idea is strongly supported by her affinity for warm weather. When Laurel was young, her mother passed on during childbirth, taking Laurel's little brother with her. Her father, Roger, was then left to raise his two daughters alone. Growing up was difficult for the Bruhn sisters. Because of the loss of their mother, the two were always competing for their father's attention. They often argued about insiginificant things, but it was later brought up by Lillie that she was the prettier sister and helped fuel their disdain for one another later in life. Even after the death of his wife and son, Roger remained a respectable man and father. His daughters were his life -- he raised them as best as he could on his own. However and Lillie and Laurel grew older, he found himself falling into a deep depression. He couldn't stand the idea of them leaving him. In order to cope with this, he took up drinking. This sudden change took Lillie, Laurel, and the entire town by surprise. Because of his new habit, his daughters stayed close to look after him. He was often the butt of jokes around town, but Lillie and Laurel defended his name, regardless of the teasing they received. In their eyes, their father would always be the greatest man in the world. However, Lillie became preoccupied with a growing romance and often left Laurel by herself to watch after Roger. With time, she became more and more frustrated with her father's drinking, which continued to get worse. She began to take more time to herself, which resulted in Roger's death. While intoxicated, he stepped into a small, nearby river and drowned. Lillie blamed his passing entirely on Laurel, though the fault was theirs to share. This tore the sisters apart, and without a word, Laurel disappeared. While traveling, Laurel discovered her love of nature. During her childhood, she was often kept inside due to her father's overprotective ways. She met a nomadic Irishman named Seamus Cooney with whom she developed a strong friendship. As it so happened, he shared her aggressiveness, competitiveness, and her newfound interest in the natural world around her. He taught her many things, including bird calling, for which she possessed talent. Over the course of several months, Laurel found herself growing closer with Seamus. He desired a romantic relationship, but she found it difficult to express her feelings, which weren't quite mutual. She felt uncomfortable with the idea of genuine love because she had failed her father, whom she loved with all of her being. This did not, however, stop her from having adult relations with Seamus. Laurel knew she was unable to give Seamus the love he wanted, so she figured she would at least give him sexual satisfaction. One of the towns the two were visiting was soon ravaged by an Akuma attack. Many of the townspeople died, but Laurel was able to hold her own by defending herself with a crowbar she found in the streets during the course of said attack. Seamus, however, seemed to vanish. When Laurel last saw him, he was on the ground and missing an arm. For two days, she wandered the remains of the small town in search of Seamus, having to fight off the few Akuma that lingered. It was during the second day that she found herself face to face with a man named Froi Tiedoll, who attempted to explain the situation. Exhausted and disoriented, Laurel asked to go home, saying that she needed to visit her father and see if he was well. Tiedoll promised her that he would take her home, but ended up taking her to the Black Order's headquarters. As it turned out, the crowbar she had defended herself with contained Innocence with which she was compatible. Anti-Akuma Weapon Laurel's Anti-Akuma weapon is a crowbar called "Iron Crow." It appears to be a normal crowbar because it was made to be so. Because of her strange attachment to the weapon, Laurel refuses to let anyone touch it. Iron Crow remains in its unaltered state. Laurel's initial synchronization rate is 74%, but it increases with time. She has displayed several techniques so far: *'Vociferous Voices: 'If Laurel is to hit her opponent with a certain amount of force, her crowbar is able to produce a ringing so loud and persistent that the mechanics within the affected Akuma will temporarily or permanently cease. This, however, depends on the level of the Akuma and how much force she puts behind the blow. Vociferous Voices can be combined with Malevolent Metal in order to produce a louder sound (see below). *'Malevolent Metal: 'This technique allows Laurel to alter the composition of her crowbar, which means she is able to the type of metal it is made of. The higher her synchronization rate, the stronger the metal she is able to use. So far, the strongest metal she has been able to use is titanium (stronger metals inclue carbon steel and osmium, but these would require a full release). Malevolent Metal can be combined with Vociferous Voices in order to produce a louder sound. *'Wild is the Wind: 'In order to use this technique, Laurel must swing her crowbar at a certain speed to create destructive gusts of wind moving in multiple directions which can tear her opponent apart. Depending on how she moves the crowbar, Laurel can also form tornadoes. The environment can also come into play while she is using this technique. If the location happens to be wet and tropical, Laurel is able to create small hurricanes. If the location happens to be desert-like, she can produce sand storms. *'Broken Bonds: '''This attack allows Laurel to seperate the body of an Akuma from the soul attached. The edges of her crowbar sharpen immensely and are able to cut through the Akuma's body and destroy it while purifying its soul. She is also able to use the crowbar's sharpened edges like a double-edged sword. This technique, like Vociferous Voices, can be combined with Malevolent Metal in order to cut through stronger opponents. Trivia *Laurel loves tart foods, especially lemon. *Her little brother was to be named Lewis -- though he died before birth, she speaks of him fondly. *She is able to mimic almost any bird she hears. *Her favorite bird is the Blue Jay. *Her love of swimming is ironic, considering that her father drowned. *Laurel has one weakspot on her body. She loves it when the back of her knee is touched. When this is done, she blushes and begins to giggle uncontrollably. *She is 1/4 German on her father's side (indicated by her last name), and 1/8 British on her mother's side. *Laurel is able to play the piano, though not very well. Category:CLEANED